“But, you don’t understand.”
“Of course I don’t understand. Do you?”
“But it’s not sex…”
“Not sex? Sucking cock is not sex? What is it then?”
“It’s about the yoga, the Goddess. Papi said… He wanted me to learn. To be better.”
“Oh yes? Better for who? Him? The Irishman? Certainly not for me, and I’m your husband.” He stood abruptly. “I’m going for a walk. Wash the dishes and we’ll talk later.”
She reached for him but did not dare to touch. “Please, Tim, please. Take this belt off me. Give me some clothes.”
He looked at her blankly, and turned to leave. He set off along the sand towards the jungle.
Her world reeled as she watched him walk away. She had been happy, and he had destroyed it. In the midst of beauty, she was in despair. She put her head in her hands and cried.
Chapter 15
She sat at the table on the verandah trying to read a book but watching the jungle fringe for him to come back. She had washed the dishes and tidied the room. She had showered and washed her hair. She had found a broom and swept up. Now she had nothing to do but wait, sweating uncomfortably under her heavy belt. The sun had passed over the cabin and she guessed it was early afternoon.
Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her, and Tim appeared around the other end of the cabin. He looked comfortable.
“Hi. Have a good morning?”
“Please, Tim, let me explain. And then I’ll go.”
“You’re not going anywhere until I let you. We’ve got the rest of the week here, so you’d better get used to it. Want to make some tea?”
“Please, Tim. You’re right. I know you are. I shouldn’t have gone with those men. I’m sorry.” She started crying again. “Please let me go. Don’t hurt me.”
He patted her shoulder. “Relax, no one’s going to hurt you. Now make some tea.”
“Make it yourself!” she flared.
Tim seemed unfazed by her tears or temper. “Fine. You like one too?” She turned her back on him, tears falling.
The small gas ring took a long time to boil the water. Eventually he returned with one mug. He offered it to her. “You should take something…” but she shrugged him off.
He sat opposite with his feet on the verandah rail, looking out to sea. “Such a beautiful place. Unbelievable.”
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked quietly.
“Oh, nothing. Don’t worry. You’ll just have to do more or less as I want for the next few days, that’s all.”
“But this belt—it’s hurting me.”
“Really?” He leant over to look more closely. “You’re getting red. I guess you shouldn’t wear it all the time. I’ll get it off you.” He went into the cabin and she heard him rummaging in one of the cupboards.
He came back with another length of chain. “Now, give me your hand.” He wrapped a stiff canvas cuff around her wrist and pressed the Velcro tab closed. He threaded the end of the new chain through the loops of the cuff and padlocked it. She waited passively as he tried the cuff for tightness. He bent to fasten the free end of the chain to the wire with another lock. “There. Now let’s get that belt off you.” He unlocked her with a small silver key and pulled the chain free of the belt. It fell away from her. “Stand up!”
She stood as he examined the mark left on her skin. “No harm done,” he said. “Now wait a minute. Some cream will do you good.”
He brought sun cream from the bathroom. He sat and she stood between his knees while he rubbed the cream into her waist. As she turned, she had to lift the new chain over her head. His hands were strong and gentle on her and the cream felt good. He was caring for her.
“Better? You should wash that belt in fresh water and rub some saddle soap into it. There’s some in the bathroom. I’m sure you’ll need it again soon.”
“Why are you doing this to me, Tim?”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll figure that out eventually,” he smiled. “Now I’m going to take a siesta. Want to join me?” She turned away from him as he went inside to lie down. She tried to read her book but found it difficult to concentrate.
Tim woke when the sun was already settling in the sky. He came out onto the balcony. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.” He had brought her sandals and a sun hat. She thought about refusing but she needed to get off the verandah. “Stand up, you’ll need cream on your shoulders.” She stood still as he rubbed sun cream over her shoulders and back, over her bottom and down to her thighs. He turned her around and covered her front, arms, breasts, belly, efficiently and without suggestion. “I like you without hair,” he remarked as he did her thighs. “That was a really good idea.” She felt like a child.
He produced a dog collar with a long lead attached. “Lift your hair, let’s get this on you.”
She held her hair up as he put the collar around her neck and snapped a padlock through the closure behind her neck. He must have a stock of them, she thought. He put a Velcroed cuff around his own wrist and clipped the lead to it. She was tied to him. He unlocked her wrist and freed her from the chain. Not allowing her to do anything for herself, he knelt at her feet and fastened her sandals.
“Right, walkies!” he said with a smile and she found herself smiling back. “That’s better. A pretty smile makes the world go round.” They strolled the strand, watching the sun tip and fall toward the mainland. For the first time that day she felt relaxed with him. He was happy, talkative, caring. His arm rested lightly around her waist and the fact that she was naked apart from a hat, sandals and dog’s collar did not seem to matter any more. He took her sandals off and carried them while she paddled in the water and then sat with her up to their waists, watching the sun go down.
As the sun started to touch the far hills, he jumped up. “Whoa! We’ve got to hurry. I must light the lamps while there’s still enough light to find the matches. Come on!”
They hurried together back to the cabin. She hoped he might let her free, but the first thing he did was pick up her cuff and ask “Wrist or ankle?” She decided to try it on her ankle for a while.
She felt hungry and relented enough to prepare the rice while Tim struggled to get the charcoal in the barbecue alight. Ahmed had given him a fish to grill. The smell drove her appetite mad.
They ate on the verandah, protected by mosquito coils burning at their feet and with two Tilly lamps attracting every insect on the island. Tim had produced a bottle of gin and mixed it with fresh lime juice, water and ice from the limited supply their small gas-powered fridge could provide. They sat and watched the phosphorescent ripples on the beach, the black sea and pinpricks of light on the distant shore. A full moon shouldered its way out of the sea behind them, lighting the sand and darkening the rocky shadows.
They were both tired. Tim drained his mug. “Bed time. Are you going to join me?”
Sherry decided to make a stand. She would not be dragged into bed with chains. “No, I’m not getting into bed with you until you let me go.”
“It doesn’t work like that, love. Oh well, suit yourself. I’m going to get a shower.”
She washed up and went for her own shower. When she came back into the room, Tim had rigged the mosquito net around the bed and was already asleep in its shadows. She spread her towel on the floor, turned off the lamp and lay down.
The bright light from the open door woke her. She lay on the floor, her bones hurt, and the mosquitoes had bitten her. Sometime during the night Tim had put a pillow under her head and spread a sheet over her. The bed was empty and she crawled onto it.
Tim bounding onto the verandah woke her again, and he made sure by picking up the end of the bed. “Get up, lazy bones. It’s a beautiful day in Paradise and I want my breakfast.”
She rolled onto her stomach. “My bones have stopped working,” she mumbled but he kept on lifting the bed and banging it on the floor. She got up and stumbled to the bathroom, dragging her chain behind her.
Tim started clattering and whistling in the kitchen. He waved her through to the verandah when she emerged. She sat looking out over the sea, wearing nothing but the cuff on her ankle. Her nakedness and even her chain had begun to seem natural now.
Tim brought coffee and plates, and then a large omelette with chilli, ginger and onion, along with scraps of last night’s fish. Sherry felt hungry again and it smelt wonderful. She ate and only when she was clearing her plate she noticed Tim watching with a smile on his face.
“Now, did you wash and soap that belt? I’ll take you out on the surfboard.”
“Not the belt again…”
“I think so. It’s safer than tying up an ankle or wrist.”
“Let me go free for a while. There’s nowhere I can run to.”
“That’s not the point. Help me clear up and we’ll get ready to go.”
He brought a tee shirt for her, to protect her from the sun. He pulled it on first and put the belt over it. While he went for the board and snorkelling gear, she followed the wire out onto the beach. It disappeared into the sea. She wondered who had put it there and why. At least it meant she could go at will from the bathroom out onto the beach and even into the water, and she felt grateful for it.
Tim rubbed cream onto her arms, legs and nose and then locked her chain to the board. She put on her mask and snorkel and lay on her stomach with her face in the water over the back of the board. Sitting between her feet, Tim paddled her out to the reef. Once there, he slipped into the water and she hung in space watching the reef world below, and Tim’s dives down to the coral. He was naked again and looked like a Greek statue with the curtains of sun rippling across his back.
As Tim paddled back, the ripples slapped against the board and wet her tee shirt. She lay on her back with her hat over her eyes. “Alistair and the girls are coming this afternoon,” Tim volunteered.
“What!” she pushed herself up onto her elbows, “Coming here?”
“Yes, we’re going to have dinner together.”
“But—but you can’t bring them here. They can’t see me like this!”
“Why not? They know you’re here, and why, and they like you. Of course they want to come for dinner.”
“Let me go, Tim. Please! I’ll do anything you want. You can put the chains back when they leave. Please don’t let them…”
“Don’t worry about it. They’ll understand. I expect Alistair does the same if the twins ever step out of line.”
Tim said she could dress as she pleased—meaning she could choose how to wear her chain. She accepted the ankle cuff and started to clean the cabin. Tim disappeared and came back with a yellow flower for her hair.
“Here you are. I want you to look your best. Go and put some make-up on. You don’t want them to think you’re down-hearted.”
She sat vacantly on the verandah and waited for their guests. Tim brought her book, complete with bookmark. “There’s something here for you. It’s your right, but I don’t want you to use it.” The bookmark was an airline ticket. She opened it and read the back page. A single ticket in her name, Singapore-Heathrow, open-dated. She closed it and returned it to the book.
Chapter 16
Alistair’s long narrow boat burst into view from behind the trees late that afternoon. Ahmed stood in the stern steering at the outboard, and Alistair sat with the girls in the bows. They waved as soon as they saw Sherry.
Tim jumped out of bed and ran to the water’s edge to catch their bow. Sherry wanted to join him but her nakedness held her back. She stood in the shade of the verandah and watched as Alistair handed the girls down to Tim, who made a big show of carrying them one at a time onto the sand, setting them carefully down and patting their bottoms. Then he went back to help Ahmed and Alistair with two large iceboxes.
Faith and Hope rushed up the beach to Sherry. “Sherry, Sherry!” they called as they bounded up the steps and into her arms. Then they stood back. “Ooooh, Sherry! Very sexy English lady!” They examined her closely. Faith reached up to press her fingers against the side of Sherry’s breast. “Big! I like susu like this.” Hope said something Sherry did not catch and they both collapsed in laughter.
“Forgive my little children, Sherry,” said Alistair as he plodded up the sand with one end of an icebox. “They are just wondering how they would look with breasts like yours. Now, let’s get this inside.” Ahmed, carrying the other end of the box, smiled and waved with his free hand. He clearly approved of her.
Before long they had all crowded around the table on the verandah, and watched Ahmed and the boat disappear behind the jungle curtain. “So, Sherry,” started Alistair, “what do you think of ParadiseIsland?”
“It’s lovely. Is that really its name?”
“No, we’re not so romantic. Actually, its real name, Pulau Ikan, means FishIsland and that’s only attractive if you’re hungry. It’s my little home away from home. I come here whenever I want peace and no traffic or telephones. Have you taken her around it yet, Tim?”
“No, I was saving that up. She’s just walked on the beach and we paddled over to the reef on the surfboard. The coral’s fantastic here.”
“Protected. I got it included in the MarinePark area so there’s no fishing at all. Not even by tourists. No one ever comes here because it’s out of the way and there’s no beach, apart from this one. So you won’t have any admirers, Sherry, unfortunately for you.”
She shuddered. “Thank God! It’s bad enough have you and the girls see me like this. Tell Tim to let me go. Or at least give me some clothes.”
“Ah-ha, Tim! Did you hear that? I hope you’re not going to let her cover up that beautiful body? I like her like that; I can’t remember when I enjoyed myself quite so much.”
“But the chains…” she tried.
“Necessary, my dear. And besides, being tied up makes you look—I don’t know—cute, I suppose. Helpless. Sweet. You look delightful. I wish I’d remembered the camera.”
“No!” Sherry was horrified, “Not that! It’s bad enough…”
Alistair sent the girls in for drinks and moments later they reappeared with three glasses of Kelapa Sling and iced tea for themselves. Sherry looked at her drink suspiciously. “Don’t worry, my dear, there’s nothing in it this time. Cheers!”
He raised his glass to her. “Here’s to the pretty prisoner!” Carefully, she drank with the men. The taste brought back memories of a time so long ago. Only two days? Two days and a lifetime ago.
“Tim, Alistair. Tell me why I’m here, and why the chains.”
He smiled impishly at her and then looked at Tim. “Why is she here, Tim?” but Tim ignored the question. “Perhaps he’s just trying to teach you something. Now then, drink up and let’s go for a swim. Before these things do too much harm.” He sent the twins inside again and, through the thin walls, she could hear them chattering and moving around. They were nude when they returned carrying her dog collar.
They looked fascinating in their naturalness, their liveliness, their beauty. They were woman as God had designed her, slim, graceful, black hair over their shoulders, no trace of tan lines marring their smooth brown skins. They were petite, almost childlike, and without artifice. They rushed Sherry as she put down her drink and clipped the dog collar around her neck. Tim passed them a small key and Hope knelt to unclasp her ankle.
Faith pulled on her lead. “Come, Sherry, we go to swim!”
‘No,” ordered Tim, “not until you’ve put some cream on her. She’s not the same colour as you and she’ll burn. It’s next to the bed.”
Faith passed her lead to Alistair and the two girls rubbed cream into her skin, hurrying but missing nowhere. Their small hands were everywhere, rubbing and burrowing until she was slippery all over.
“Now her nose,” said Tim, “or it will get as red as Rudolph. Then you can take her.”
They pulled at her lead and she ran down the beach with them, leaving the men to watch as they splashed in the shallows.
�
��Make a lovely picture, don’t they?” mused Alistair.
“Yes. It’s the contrast, I suppose, and Sherry seems to be enjoying herself.”
“Of course. Why not? Is she showing any sign of changing yet?”
“I’m not sure,” Tim thought for a while. “She’s eating again. She wouldn’t even do that to start with. I’m surprised she’s not fighting with her chain. I thought I’d have to watch her all the time, but she seems to have accepted she can’t get away. That doesn’t mean she’s given up yet. I hope you’re right. I’m still afraid she’ll take off as soon as she’s free.”
“She won’t, trust me my friend. You’ll see. Come on, let’s go and join them.”
Tim followed Alistair’s lead and kept his shorts on. As they walked down to the water, Alistair instructed him. “You’ve got to keep on being friendly but firm with her. She’s got to be able to rely on you and know exactly where she stands. Don’t ever trade with her. Never let her say ‘I’ll do this if you let me do that’. That’s not her place. If you want her to do whatever she’s offering, then she should do it without payment. So if she ever tries to trade, take what she’s offering anyway. She’ll soon learn.
“But don’t take anything by force. Just let her know that you could force her, if you wanted to, and then wait for her to bring it to you freely. You can reward her afterwards, but not by taking her chains off. Give her things, do things for her, but don’t set her free.” He stopped Tim at the water’s edge so he could finish. “Tell her she’s pretty and sexy, but don’t try anything with her yourself. When she’s ready, she’ll come to you and it will be much, much better that way. Make her jealous. Play with my girls as much as you want, they like you. In fact, I think I’ll tell them to put on a show for you tonight, and we’ll see how Sherry reacts.”
Tim dived into the sea and swam around the girls to deeper water. Looking back, they made a beautiful picture with the beach and coconut palms behind them. He dived and swam underwater towards them, skimming the rippled sand. Two brown legs emerged out of the fog. He grabbed the ankles and pulled his head between them. Ignoring her struggling, he surfaced under Faith and lifted her out of the water on his shoulders. Her hands clutched in his hair and her legs gripped him tightly as she shrieked.
Her Master's Voice Page 12
